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Voloh B, Maisson DJN, Cervera RL, Conover I, Zambre M, Hayden B, Zimmermann J. Hierarchical action encoding in prefrontal cortex of freely moving macaques. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113091. [PMID: 37656619 PMCID: PMC10591875 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Our natural behavioral repertoires include coordinated actions of characteristic types. To better understand how neural activity relates to the expression of actions and action switches, we studied macaques performing a freely moving foraging task in an open environment. We developed a novel analysis pipeline that can identify meaningful units of behavior, corresponding to recognizable actions such as sitting, walking, jumping, and climbing. On the basis of transition probabilities between these actions, we found that behavior is organized in a modular and hierarchical fashion. We found that, after regressing out many potential confounders, actions are associated with specific patterns of firing in each of six prefrontal brain regions and that, overall, encoding of action category is progressively stronger in more dorsal and more caudal prefrontal regions. Together, these results establish a link between selection of units of primate behavior on one hand and neuronal activity in prefrontal regions on the other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Voloh
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - David J-N Maisson
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | | | - Indirah Conover
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Mrunal Zambre
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Benjamin Hayden
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jan Zimmermann
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
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Maisson DJN, Cervera RL, Voloh B, Conover I, Zambre M, Zimmermann J, Hayden BY. Widespread coding of navigational variables in prefrontal cortex. Curr Biol 2023; 33:3478-3488.e3. [PMID: 37541250 PMCID: PMC10984098 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
To navigate effectively, we must represent information about our location in the environment. Traditional research highlights the role of the hippocampal complex in this process. Spurred by recent research highlighting the widespread cortical encoding of cognitive and motor variables previously thought to have localized function, we hypothesized that navigational variables would be likewise encoded widely, especially in the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with volitional behavior. We recorded neural activity from six prefrontal regions while macaques performed a foraging task in an open enclosure. In all regions, we found strong encoding of allocentric position, allocentric head direction, boundary distance, and linear and angular velocity. These encodings were not accounted for by distance, time to reward, or motor factors. The strength of coding of all variables increased along a ventral-to-dorsal gradient. Together, these results argue that encoding of navigational variables is not localized to the hippocampus and support the hypothesis that navigation is continuous with other forms of flexible cognition in the service of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J-N Maisson
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Roberto Lopez Cervera
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Benjamin Voloh
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Indirah Conover
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Mrunal Zambre
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Jan Zimmermann
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Benjamin Y Hayden
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
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Sabharwal A, Wishman MD, Cervera RL, Serres MR, Anderson JL, Holmberg SR, Kar B, Treichel AJ, Ichino N, Liu W, Yang J, Ding Y, Deng Y, Lacey JM, Laxen WJ, Loken PR, Oglesbee D, Farber SA, Clark KJ, Xu X, Ekker SC. Genetic therapy in a mitochondrial disease model suggests a critical role for liver dysfunction in mortality. eLife 2022; 11:e65488. [PMID: 36408801 PMCID: PMC9859037 DOI: 10.7554/elife.65488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The clinical and largely unpredictable heterogeneity of phenotypes in patients with mitochondrial disorders demonstrates the ongoing challenges in the understanding of this semi-autonomous organelle in biology and disease. Previously, we used the gene-breaking transposon to create 1200 transgenic zebrafish strains tagging protein-coding genes (Ichino et al., 2020), including the lrpprc locus. Here, we present and characterize a new genetic revertible animal model that recapitulates components of Leigh Syndrome French Canadian Type (LSFC), a mitochondrial disorder that includes diagnostic liver dysfunction. LSFC is caused by allelic variations in the LRPPRC gene, involved in mitochondrial mRNA polyadenylation and translation. lrpprc zebrafish homozygous mutants displayed biochemical and mitochondrial phenotypes similar to clinical manifestations observed in patients, including dysfunction in lipid homeostasis. We were able to rescue these phenotypes in the disease model using a liver-specific genetic model therapy, functionally demonstrating a previously under-recognized critical role for the liver in the pathophysiology of this disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ankit Sabharwal
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Mark D Wishman
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Roberto Lopez Cervera
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - MaKayla R Serres
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Jennifer L Anderson
- Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution for ScienceBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Shannon R Holmberg
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Bibekananda Kar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Anthony J Treichel
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Noriko Ichino
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Weibin Liu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
- Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Jingchun Yang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
- Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Yonghe Ding
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
- Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Yun Deng
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
- Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Jean M Lacey
- Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - William J Laxen
- Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Perry R Loken
- Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Devin Oglesbee
- Biochemical Genetics Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Steven A Farber
- Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution for ScienceBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Karl J Clark
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Xiaolei Xu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
- Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
| | - Stephen C Ekker
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic College of MedicineRochesterUnited States
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Yang J, Lopez Cervera R, Tye SJ, Ekker SC, Pierret C. Adolescent mental health education InSciEd Out: a case study of an alternative middle school population. J Transl Med 2018; 16:84. [PMID: 29615090 PMCID: PMC5883586 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-018-1459-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Accepted: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mental illness contributes substantially to global disease burden, particularly when illness onset occurs during youth and help-seeking is delayed and/or limited. Yet, few mental health promotion interventions target youth, particularly those with or at high risk of developing mental illness ("at-risk" youth). Community-based translational research has the capacity to identify and intervene upon barriers to positive health outcomes. This is especially important for integrated care in at-risk youth populations. METHODS Here the Integrated Science Education Outreach (InSciEd Out) program delivered a novel school-based anti-stigma intervention in mental health to a cohort of seventh and eighth grade at-risk students. These students were assessed for changes in mental health knowledge, stigmatization, and help-seeking intentions via a classroom activity, surveys, and teacher interviews. Descriptive statistics and Cohen's d effect sizes were employed to assess pre-post changes. Inferential statistical analyses were also conducted on pilot results to provide a benchmark to inform future studies. RESULTS Elimination of mental health misconceptions (substance weakness p = 0.00; recovery p = 0.05; prevention p = 0.05; violent p = 0.05) was accompanied by slight gains in mental health literacy (d = 0.18) and small to medium improvements in help-seeking intentions (anxiety d = 0.24; depression d = 0.48; substance d = 0.43; psychosis d = 0.53). Within this particular cohort of students, stigma was exceptionally low at baseline and remained largely unchanged. Teacher narratives revealed positive teacher views of programming, increased student openness to talk about mental illness, and higher peer and self-acceptance of mental health diagnoses and help-seeking. CONCLUSIONS Curricular-based efforts focused on mental illness in an alternative school setting are feasible and integrated well into general curricula under the InSciEd Out framework. Preliminary data suggest the existence of unique help-seeking barriers in at-risk youth. Increased focus upon community-based programming has potential to bridge gaps in translation, bringing this critical population to clinical care in pursuit of improved mental health for all. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, ID:NCT02680899. Registered 12 February 2016, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02680899.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Yang
- Clinical and Translational Science, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | - Susannah J Tye
- Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Stephen C Ekker
- Clinical and Translational Science, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.,Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Chris Pierret
- Clinical and Translational Science, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA. .,Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
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Lee HB, Schwab TL, Koleilat A, Ata H, Daby CL, Cervera RL, McNulty MS, Bostwick HS, Clark KJ. Allele-Specific Quantitative PCR for Accurate, Rapid, and Cost-Effective Genotyping. Hum Gene Ther 2016; 27:425-35. [PMID: 26986823 PMCID: PMC4931339 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2016.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Customizable endonucleases such as transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9) enable rapid generation of mutant strains at genomic loci of interest in animal models and cell lines. With the accelerated pace of generating mutant alleles, genotyping has become a rate-limiting step to understanding the effects of genetic perturbation. Unless mutated alleles result in distinct morphological phenotypes, mutant strains need to be genotyped using standard methods in molecular biology. Classic restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) or sequencing is labor-intensive and expensive. Although simpler than RFLP, current versions of allele-specific PCR may still require post-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) handling such as sequencing, or they are more expensive if allele-specific fluorescent probes are used. Commercial genotyping solutions can take weeks from assay design to result, and are often more expensive than assembling reactions in-house. Key components of commercial assay systems are often proprietary, which limits further customization. Therefore, we developed a one-step open-source genotyping method based on quantitative PCR. The allele-specific qPCR (ASQ) does not require post-PCR processing and can genotype germline mutants through either threshold cycle (Ct) or end-point fluorescence reading. ASQ utilizes allele-specific primers, a locus-specific reverse primer, universal fluorescent probes and quenchers, and hot start DNA polymerase. Individual laboratories can further optimize this open-source system as we completely disclose the sequences, reagents, and thermal cycling protocol. We have tested the ASQ protocol to genotype alleles in five different genes. ASQ showed a 98-100% concordance in genotype scoring with RFLP or Sanger sequencing outcomes. ASQ is time-saving because a single qPCR without post-PCR handling suffices to score genotypes. ASQ is cost-effective because universal fluorescent probes negate the necessity of designing expensive probes for each locus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han B Lee
- 1 Neurobiology of Disease Graduate Program, Mayo Graduate School , Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Tanya L Schwab
- 2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic , Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Alaa Koleilat
- 3 Clinical and Translational Science Graduate Program, Mayo Graduate School , Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Hirotaka Ata
- 3 Clinical and Translational Science Graduate Program, Mayo Graduate School , Rochester, Minnesota.,4 Medical Scientist Training Program, Mayo Graduate School , Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Camden L Daby
- 2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic , Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Roberto Lopez Cervera
- 2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic , Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Melissa S McNulty
- 2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic , Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Hannah S Bostwick
- 2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic , Rochester, Minnesota
| | - Karl J Clark
- 1 Neurobiology of Disease Graduate Program, Mayo Graduate School , Rochester, Minnesota.,2 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic , Rochester, Minnesota.,3 Clinical and Translational Science Graduate Program, Mayo Graduate School , Rochester, Minnesota
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7
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Westcot SE, Hatzold J, Urban MD, Richetti SK, Skuster KJ, Harm RM, Lopez Cervera R, Umemoto N, McNulty MS, Clark KJ, Hammerschmidt M, Ekker SC. Protein-Trap Insertional Mutagenesis Uncovers New Genes Involved in Zebrafish Skin Development, Including a Neuregulin 2a-Based ErbB Signaling Pathway Required during Median Fin Fold Morphogenesis. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0130688. [PMID: 26110643 PMCID: PMC4482254 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0130688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2014] [Accepted: 05/24/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Skin disorders are widespread, but available treatments are limited. A more comprehensive understanding of skin development mechanisms will drive identification of new treatment targets and modalities. Here we report the Zebrafish Integument Project (ZIP), an expression-driven platform for identifying new skin genes and phenotypes in the vertebrate model Danio rerio (zebrafish). In vivo selection for skin-specific expression of gene-break transposon (GBT) mutant lines identified eleven new, revertible GBT alleles of genes involved in skin development. Eight genes—fras1, grip1, hmcn1, msxc, col4a4, ahnak, capn12, and nrg2a—had been described in an integumentary context to varying degrees, while arhgef25b, fkbp10b, and megf6a emerged as novel skin genes. Embryos homozygous for a GBT insertion within neuregulin 2a (nrg2a) revealed a novel requirement for a Neuregulin 2a (Nrg2a) – ErbB2/3 – AKT signaling pathway governing the apicobasal organization of a subset of epidermal cells during median fin fold (MFF) morphogenesis. In nrg2a mutant larvae, the basal keratinocytes within the apical MFF, known as ridge cells, displayed reduced pAKT levels as well as reduced apical domains and exaggerated basolateral domains. Those defects compromised proper ridge cell elongation into a flattened epithelial morphology, resulting in thickened MFF edges. Pharmacological inhibition verified that Nrg2a signals through the ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase network. Moreover, knockdown of the epithelial polarity regulator and tumor suppressor lgl2 ameliorated the nrg2a mutant phenotype. Identifying Lgl2 as an antagonist of Nrg2a – ErbB signaling revealed a significantly earlier role for Lgl2 during epidermal morphogenesis than has been described to date. Furthermore, our findings demonstrated that successive, coordinated ridge cell shape changes drive apical MFF development, making MFF ridge cells a valuable model for investigating how the coordinated regulation of cell polarity and cell shape changes serves as a crucial mechanism of epithelial morphogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie E. Westcot
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Julia Hatzold
- Institute for Developmental Biology, University of Cologne, Biocenter, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Mark D. Urban
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Stefânia K. Richetti
- Institute for Developmental Biology, University of Cologne, Biocenter, Cologne, Germany
| | - Kimberly J. Skuster
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Rhianna M. Harm
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Roberto Lopez Cervera
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Noriko Umemoto
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Melissa S. McNulty
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Karl J. Clark
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
| | - Matthias Hammerschmidt
- Institute for Developmental Biology, University of Cologne, Biocenter, Cologne, Germany
- Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Cologne Cluster of Excellence in Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Stephen C. Ekker
- Department of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States of America
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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